The International ISBN Agency has officially given an ISBN number with country code 604 to Vietnamese books, which may now find it much easier to enter the international book market.

According to Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Head of the Publishing Management Department at the Ministry of Culture and Information’s Publishing Bureau, with ISBNs for their books, Vietnamese publishers will find export costs greatly reduced.

“Without their own ISBNs, before Vietnamese books entered foreign markets, their covers had to be reprinted and stamped with ISBNs of those countries. Or foreign publishers bought copyrights, and translated and printed our books themselves. Vietnamese publishing houses and distributors thus didn’t get much profit from exporting their works. Nor did our books establish a brand name in the international market,” said Mr. Thanh.

He added that the Publishing Bureau would also organise an ISBN training session for publishers and distributors, as well as develop a website for those interested in ISBN-related issues. The fees publishers will have to pay to have ISBNs for their books won’t be high, Mr. Thanh stressed.

There will also be certain technical standards for exported books such as the thickness or brightness of paper, and the maximum number of errors per 100 pages. The purpose of these, according to Nguyen Xuan Thanh, is to ensure that Vietnamese books will improve in terms of technical quality at least.

Source: VietNamNet Bridge